12 OF LAST 13 NCAA TOURNAMENTS • GOXAVIER.COM 173 UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT FATHER MICHAEL GRAHAM FATHER MICHAEL J. GRAHAM, S.J. UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT | 18TH YEAR CORNELL COLLEGE ‘75 CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA

Michael Graham, S.J., assumed the presidency of Graham’s commitment to Xavier’s Jesuit heritage Graham’s passion for Xavier is 24/7. He lives on cam- Xavier University in 2001. In 2019, he will become and spirituality can be found in the Ruth J. and Rob- pus in a residence hall where he frequently invites the longest tenured President in the history of Xavi- ert A. Conway Institute for Jesuit Education, which his “hall-mates” to dinner and presides over the er University, surpassing Paul O’Connor, S.J., who assists faculty in transforming students, and in nu- 10:00 p.m. Sunday Mass, one of the most popular served for 17 years from 1955-1972, merous programs based in the Center for Mission student gatherings on campus. and Identity that engage faculty and staff in Jesuit The impact of President Graham’s academic and heritage and values. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Graham entered the community-based vision for Xavier is far reaching. Society of Jesus in 1978 and was ordained a priest Xavier has been listed among the nation’s top 10 in 1988. He earned a PhD in American Studies from Midwest Universities by U.S. News & World Report, the University of Michigan in 1983 and also holds de- since Graham began his presidency. Academic pro- grees in philosophy and psychology. Graham came grams established under his leadership include mas- to Xavier in 1984 when he joined the Xavier faculty ter’s programs in Coaching Education and Athlete as an assistant professor of history. He left Xavier Development, Health Economic and Clinical Out- to pursue his Master of Divinity from the Weston comes Research and Customer Analytics. School of Theology, which he earned in 1988.

His passion to connect and collaborate with local In 1989, Graham returned to Xavier and in 1994, was and regional communities inspired him to establish appointed Vice President for University Relations. In the Community Building Institute as well as the Eigel 1999, he became the Executive Assistant to Presi- Center for Community Engagement at Xavier. In 2017 dent Jim Hoff, S.J. and began preparing for his role as Graham was asked to chair the Preschool President. During these tenures, he oversaw a broad Promise Board of Directors, a voter-approved initia- range of University activities including a $125 million tive to ensure that quality preschool is available and capital campaign, at that time the most successful affordable to all children living within the Cincinnati fundraising campaign in Xavier’s history. school district. It’s one of many ways he has extend- ed his and Xavier’s reach into critical issues that im- As a parish priest active at both Good Shepherd pact the Cincinnati community. Catholic Church in suburban Cincinnati and with Xavier student groups, Graham carries out his Jesuit The Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue was pastoral activities as a celebrant for weddings, bap- established during Graham’s tenure and positions tisms and retreats as well as weekly Sunday worship. Xavier as a pre-eminent place for interreligious dis- course, thought and action. Xavier’s partnership with In addition to Cincinnati Preschool Promise, Graham the cities of Norwood and Cincinnati resulted in Uni- currently serves on the Center for Holocaust and Hu- versity Station, a mixed-use development with a goal manity Education and for the Association of Catho- to revitalize the surrounding community. Likewise, lic Colleges and Universities, Gonzaga University in Xavier’s current affiliation with TriHealth will bring a Spokane and St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati and multi-use academic, health and recreation facility to he is on the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Uni- campus in the near future. versities (AJCU) Board of Directors and the BIG EAST Council of Presidents.

174 SIX SWEET 16s IN LAST 11 YEARS • @XAVIERMBB VICEPRESIDENT & AD GREG CHRISTOPHER GREG CHRISTOPHER VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS | SIXTH YEAR MIAMI UNIVERSITY ‘88 WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. @GC_XUATHLETICS

Greg Christopher was promoted in July 2018 to Xavi- the BIG EAST Conference. He oversees Xavier’s 18 program at the University of Virginia. He also worked er University’s Vice President for Administration and intercollegiate athletic programs and 300 student- with the page program at NBC in New York in 1988 Director of Athletics, following five years as AD. In athletes. Under his guidance, Xavier Athletics has where he served as a research analyst. this role, he serves on Xavier President Fr. Michael won over 60 BIG EAST titles, including eight team Graham’s leadership cabinet and oversees three uni- titles, in the first five years in the conference. Fol- Christopher earned a bachelor’s degree in Mass versity divisions: Human Resources, Intercollegiate lowing the 2017-18 season, Christopher was named Communication from nearby Miami University in Athletics and Marketing and Communications. the Division I-AAA Under Armour Athletics Director 1988 and earned his MBA from Miami in 1991. A of the Year. former linebacker, he played football for one season Christopher took over as Athletic Director in May of before his career was cut short due to injury. While 2013 as Xavier was preparing for its first season in Christopher, who spent the previous six-and-a-half at Miami, Christopher was also involved as a televi- years as the Director of Athletics at Bowling sion and radio color commentator for football and Green State University, is the 11th athletic di- play-by-play voice for hockey. rector in Xavier history. Christopher oversaw 18 athletic programs with over 400 student- Christopher, a member of the NCAA’s Committee on athletes at BGSU, which is a member of the Infractions since 2012, took over as chair of the COI Mid-American Conference (MAC) and West- in 2017. Christopher also served as chair of the BIG ern College Hockey Association (WCHA). EAST’s Long-Range Planning Committee, the working group that put together the league’s first strategic Christopher went to Bowling Green from plan. While at Bowling Green, Christopher chaired Purdue University, where he worked from the Mid-American Conference’s Athletic Directors’ 1997-2006 as Associate A.D. for External Council. He completed a four-year term on the NCAA Relations and John Purdue Club Director. He Division I Women’s Championship Com- was accountable for external and revenue- mittee in 2012, and served as chairman of the com- related areas at Purdue. mittee in his final year.

Christopher served as Executive Director for A West Lafayette, Ind. native, Christopher is- mar the Society of Professional Journalists in Gre- ried to the former Tina Smith of Leetonia, . Tina encastle, Ind., from 1994 to 1997 after join- taught high school English at St. Ursula Academy in ing the organization in 1991 as its Marketing Toledo. Also a 1988 graduate of Miami, Tina received and Development Director. Prior to working her bachelor’s degree in Education and earned her with SPJ, Christopher worked with Eure Com- Master’s in Guidance and Counseling in 1995 from munications and WCHV/WWWV in Charlot- Butler University. Greg and Tina have a son, Zachary, tesville, Va., from 1988-90. In that capacity, and two daughters, Megan and Allison. he managed and sold station promotions, including partnerships with the athletics

12 OF LAST 13 NCAA TOURNAMENTS • GOXAVIER.COM 175 MUSKETEER TRADITION AND MASCOTS Why Musketeers?

THE TRADITION Among the first students at Xavier in the decade of the 1830’s were French-speaking young men from Louisiana The Musketeer concept was based on the suggestion of who were forbidden by the college regulations to use the late Reverend Francis J. Finn, S.J., a member of the their family tongue during recreation lest they fail to Xavier University Board of Trustees for many years until learn the English language. his death in 1928. In response to a directive from the Trustees, Father Finn proposed the name Musketeers in The first Jesuit Priest of Xavier, in 1840, was Father John 1925. It was adopted and has been a Xavier designation Anthony Elet, a native of the French-speaking provinces ever since. of Belgium.

In naming the Musketeers, Father Finn was not only The great patron of the University, St. Francis Xavier, a giving rebirth to a concept of chivalry that is among native of Spain, received his university education at the France’s most treasured traditions, but he was also College of St. Barbe at the University of Paris and he providing permanent recognition to Xavier’s strong ties helped found the Jesuit Order in Paris in 1540. with French origins and culture. So, as Father Finn reasoned, the Musketeer, a dedicated The first priest, and one of the first Europeans to navi- guard of the King of France, was a fine symbol of the gate the Ohio River past the site that was to become Cin- qualities that should inspire the students and particu- cinnati, was a Jesuit from French Canada named the Rev. larly the athletic teams at Xavier University. Joseph Pierre de Bonnecamps. He was a scientist and mathematician from the College of Quebec who made the trip in 1749. Numerous historical accounts credit him with creating the first map of Ohio’s boundaries.

Xavier Mascots D’Artagnan serves as the official mascot of the Xavier University athletic teams. The legendary mascot has gone through many changes over the years, but his powerful presence remained when the most recent version of the Musketeer was unveiled at the start of the 2004-05 basketball season.

The Blue Blob serves as a secondary mascot for the Xavier University athletic teams. The Blob is well known for being able to excite the crowd and is a favorite among the younger Musketeer fans. The Blue Blob has even been featured on SportsCenter, including a main role in a series of ESPN SportsCenter commercials.

176 SIX SWEET 16s IN LAST 11 YEARS • @XAVIERMBB XAVIER ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Tom Eiser Contact Information: TOM Office: 513-745-3124 Cell: 513-382-5565 EISER Fax: 513-745-2825 E-Mail: [email protected] ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Twitter: @EiserXUSports FOR COMMUNICATIONS 33RD YEAR Men’s Basketball: XAVIER ‘84 Twitter: @XavierMBB Instagram: @XavierMBB CINCINNATI, OHIO @EISERXUSPORTS | @EISERXUSPORTS

Tom Eiser, Xavier Associate Athletic Director addition to a long list of men’s and women’s for Communications, is in his 33rd year as Final Four and preliminary round NCAA bas- the media contact for the nationally-ranked ketball competition. men’s basketball program. Eiser, who was honored in 2015 with the Sports Executive Eiser worked in radio news and sports be- Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cin- fore accepting his first full-time job in the cinnati Sports Professional Network, began athletics field as the Assistant SID at the working with the Xavier men’s basketball University of Detroit in 1985. He received team in 1986. He is working with his sixth several awards from the Society of Profes- head coach and has promoted the team sional Journalists for his radio news report- through each of its last 25 NCAA Tourna- ing. He also has done freelance reporting ment seasons. Four of his men’s basketball for a variety of media, including Associated media guides were voted among the best in Press and National Public Radio. the nation in the last eight years, including Greg Lautzenheiser Brendan Bergen Assistant Director of Athletic Communications “Best in the Nation” by CoSIDA in 2010-11, Eiser is an active member of the College Athletic Communications Coordinator “Second-Best in the Nation” for 2012-13 and Sports Information Directors of Ameri- 2016-17 and “Third-Best” for 2017-18. ca, the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Public Relations Soci- Eiser’s primary responsibilities at Xavier ety of America. He has served as Chair of involve directing the Athletic Communica- the CoSIDA I-AAA University Management tions Office, which handles communications, Committee, and serves on the BIG EAST media relations, broadcast production, web Conference Academic Affairs Committee in site, social media, publicity, publications, re- addition to serving numerous times as a pre- cord-keeping and research for his alma ma- senter at the annual CoSIDA/NACDA Con- ter’s 18 NCAA Division I sports. In addition, vention. he is the sport administrator for men’s and women’s cross country and track and field The native Cincinnatian, a 1984 graduate of and is the Chair of the Xavier Athletic Hall of Xavier with a bachelor’s degree in English, Fame Selection Committee. studied British Media in the summer of 1984 at the University of Manchester. Eiser com- Hayley Schletker Outside of Xavier, Eiser has worked as pleted work in 2011 on a master’s degree Athletic Communications a media specialist for men’s and wom- in educational administration at Xavier. He Messaging Assistant en’s FIFA World Cup competition in resides in his hometown with his wife, Carey.

12 OF LAST 13 NCAA TOURNAMENTS • GOXAVIER.COM 177 CINTAS CENTER AND THE MEDIA MEDIA GUIDELINES PRIMARY LOCAL MEDIA (Twitter handles) NEWSPAPERS TO THE MEDIA: This guide has been prepared to assist you in your coverage of the 2018-19 Xavier Musketeer basketball Cincinnati Enquirer (AM Daily, including Sat. & Sun.) team. Let the Athletic Communications staff know if you need additional materials or information. Updated statistics, cincinnati.com game notes and more are available at GoXavier.com, the official Xavier Athletics web site. Call Tom Eiser at 513-745-3124 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202 (office) or 513-382-5565 (cell) with questions, interview and pass requests or additional needs. XU Beat Writer: Adam Baum (@AdamJBaum) Columnist: Paul Daugherty (@EnquirerDoc) Sports Editor: Jason Hoffman (@JHoffinCincy) PRESS, PHOTO & SCOUT PASSES: All requests for press, photo and scout passes must be made through Tom Eiser. Passes will be left at the press entrance on the north side (loading dock) of the Cintas Center. Xavier Newswire (Weekly) • xaviernewswire.com

SERVICES AT GAMES: Information and statistics will be available in the press room. Refreshments and a pre-game meal ON THE WEB: are also available in the press room. The Athletic Cincinnati TheAthletic.com/team/xavier-musketeers POST-GAME INTERVIEW PROCEDURE: Depending on media demand, the visiting coach will be brought into the press/ XU beat writer: Shannon Russell (@slrussell) interview room after the post-game “cooling off” period. After every game selected Xavier players and head coach Travis MusketeerReport.com (Scout.com) Steele will conduct interviews in the press/interview room. Please direct all Xavier procedural questions to Tom Eiser. Visit- Site Publisher: Rick Broering (@RickBroering) ing team interview requests should be made through the visiting team’s media contact. WIRE SERVICE Associated Press • 312 Elm Street, Cincinnati 45202 CINTAS CENTER Reporter: Joe Kay (@apjoekay) TELEVISION WCPO-TV 9 (ABC) • 1720 Gilbert Ave., Cincinnati 45202 Address: Cintas Center is located at 1624 Herald www.wcpo.com Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45207. John Popovich (@Popo_WCPOSports) Keenan Singleton (@KJMSingleton) Athletic Department: To reach the Siemers Fam- Ken Broo (@kenbroo) ily Athletic Office Suite, including the athletic com- WCPO.com reporter: Jeff Wallner (@JeffWallner) munications and basketball offices, guests must WLWT-TV 5 (NBC) • 1700 Young St., Cincinnati 45202 enter through the Schiff Family Conference Center www.wlwt.com Entrance. Take a left when you enter the building George Vogel (@vogel_wlwt) and the athletic offices are straight down the hall. Elise Jesse (@EliseJesseWLWT) Brandon Saho (@BrandonSaho) Media and Team Entrance: Check in at the loading Mark Slaughter (@MarkVSlaughter) dock area, which is located on the north side of the WKRC-TV 12 (CBS) • 1906 Highland Ave., Cincinnati 45219 Cintas Center. www.local12.com Gary Miller (@Local12Gary) Media Parking: Media with parking passes should Aly Cohen (@alyco32) park in designated areas. All other media/scouts Kevin Barnett (@KBarnett15) Jed DeMuesy (@Local12Jed) must park in general access lots. Richard Skinner (@Local12Skinny) TV Coverage: Parking for the broadcast/produc- WXIX-TV 19 (FOX) • 635 West 7th St., Cincinnati 45203 tion truck(s) is in the loading dock area. TV news/ www.fox19.com sports crews using “live shot” ENG vehicles must Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) park on the east side of the building next to the Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) entrance of the Schiff Conference Center, which is RADIO where the plug in is located. TV coverage (broad- 700 WLW AM, 55KRC AM and ESPN 1530 AM casts or “live shots”) and the reservation of park- www.700wlw.com ing space must be cleared in advance through 8044 Montgomery Rd., Suite 650, Cincinnati 45236 Tom Eiser, who will put the crew in touch with the Bill Dennison (@seg700wlw) and Dave Armbruster Talk Show Hosts: Lance McAlister (@LanceMcAlister) appropriate Cintas Center personnel. and Mo Egger (@MoEgger1530)

178 SIX SWEET 16s IN LAST 11 YEARS • @XAVIERMBB SERVING THE MEDIA XAVIER ON RADIO XAVIER BASKETBALL IS A NATIONAL LEADER Xavier’s men’s basketball media guide was voted in the top three in the nation for the second straight year and the fourth time in the last eight years. The 2017-18 Xavier University men’s basketball media guide was selected third- best in the country for all of NCAA Division I by a panel of media and design judges on behalf of CoSIDA, the Col- lege Sports Information Directors of America. Kansas earned the top spot for 2017-18 followed by Michigan State, Xavier and West Virginia. Xavier, which won “Best in the Nation” in 2010-11, had the 2016-17 and the 2012-13 edi- tions of the media guide selected “Second-Best in the Nation.” Michigan State earned the top spot in 2017 followed by Xavier, Kentucky and Kansas State. Clemson was selected first in 2013 followed by Xavier and Kansas. Xavier’s 2010-11 edition was selected as the “Best in the Nation” followed by Kansas State, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The popular Xavier radio tandem of Joe Sunderman (XU ‘79) and Byron Larkin (XU ‘88) is back for a 21st straight season. They can be heard all season on 700 WLW and 55KRC with pre- game and post-game shows in addition to every regular season and postseason game broadcast. Sunderman and Larkin, who are both members of the Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame, also host the weekly Travis Steele Show, which airs live weekly from Delicio near the Xavier campus on 1530 ESPN and/or 55KRC and can also be heard on iHeart Radio. The radio schedule is at GoXavier.com. The Larkin/Sunderman broadcast tandem has been together since the 1998-99 sea- son. Sunderman has been a part of the broadcast team since the 1980-81 season.

Xavier basketball radio broadcasts and coach’s show are productions of Xavier Sports Properties, a property of Learfield Sports. XSP is the exclusive multimedia rights holder for Xavier Athletics.

Xavier Hall of Famers Byron Larkin and Joe Sunderman

12 OF LAST 13 NCAA TOURNAMENTS • GOXAVIER.COM 179 XAVIER UNIVERSITY – ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE • Xavier’s 7,133 students choose from over 90 • Xavier’s student/faculty ratio is 12:1, and 42 percent of • Xavier offers international study opportunities in 33 undergraduate majors in three colleges, 60 minors, 40 classes have fewer than 20 students. countries. master’s programs and three doctoral programs. • U.S. News & World Report has ranked Xavier among the • Kiplinger’s Personal Finance lists Xavier as a “Best Value” • Xavier’s undergraduate enrollment is 4,989 (46 percent top 10 Midwest Master’s colleges and universities for 24 among private colleges and universities for combining male; 54 percent female). The Xavier Class of 2022 is the consecutive years, including No. 8 in the latest issue. XU is outstanding education with economic value. largest in history. ranked among “The Best 384 Colleges in America” by The Princeton Review. • Xavier’s nationally-renowned Community-Engaged • Xavier’s student body is drawn from 48 states in addition Fellows program offers a four-year scholarship that covers to D.C. as well as 46 foreign countries. • Xavier is in the Forbes listing of “America’s Top Colleges” 75 percent of tuition costs to eight incoming students in its annual rankings for 2018. who have shown extraordinary leadership, initiative in • Xavier has more than 20 religions represented on community engagement or service and high academic • Xavier’s Williams College of Business is rated among the campus; 46 percent of all students are Roman Catholic achievement. and 52 percent of undergrads are Roman Catholic. “Best Business Programs” by U.S. News & World Report.